HOW CAN HE DO THIS TO ME!” I yelled while I walked up the stairs. There was no elevator in the villa, and this made me even angrier since I needed to walk to the fourth floor. I got madder and madder at her for creating this mess. How can she flirt with him? How can my nice brother treat me like this!I sighed like a fire breathing dragon as I arrived in front of her home. It felt like Noah’s voice was still ringing in my ears.“My life has been with you for the last 32 years. If I must choose, I’d rather be with her for the next 32 years,” he had said.My brother made a stupid choice like that because of you! I angrily stared at the door, thinking about Lucy behind it. Suddenly, the door opened and someone came out.“Oh my god!” The middle-aged woman who walked out of the door looked at me with surprise.“Is Lucy living here?” I asked.“Have you come here to meet her?” asked the woman.“Yes. I have something for her. Is she here?”She examined me, looking unsure, but then a look of r
I barely caught him outside the villa since I was still barefoot. I stood in front of him, out of breath, babbling unorganized words.“I...I didn’t intentionally do that... I didn’t know you were there...I just talked....I didn’t know... you were listening...” I finally managed to collect my words. “I didn’t know you were here. I literally didn’t know.”Damien looked away as if he didn’t even want to make eye contact with me.“Even if you didn’t know, does that resolve everything?” he asked.“No, I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry,” I said.My guilt made me keep talking. “I don’t know what Noah said but don’t take it too seriously. He probably–”“Hey, if you are going to act shamelessly, at least have some sense! Do you think I want to talk to you now?” Damien said, glaring at me.I stepped back reflexively, but noticed something unusual. On his scowling face I spotted...a tear? This guy is crying! I would be less surprised if I saw a statue crying.“Hey, are you crying?” I ask
I made the day Noah returned the end date to my goal. I imagined welcoming him with Damien who would be on good terms with me. In order to make my fantasy real, I started my plan.First, I studied Damien. From personality to interests, I gathered all the information I could and went to Noah’s house. When I arrived there, I saw Damien’s shoes in the entrance. I remembered Noah once told me that Damien was so clean, he brushed his teeth while being carried to the Emergency Room.He cries, but organizes his shoes. I started giggling, thinking he was cute. I took off my shoes cautiously and headed toward the living room. It looked the same as it had when I’d left the day before. I put my stuff down on the table where all of the bags were. The table was the same except for one thing: Noah’s letter was gone.He threw it away. Throw it away! It wasn’t even a surprise. He hadn’t flipped the table or cut up the letter, just thrown it away.I was about to leave but then I found something odd. T
LucyStanding at the kitchen countertop wearing an apron and headband, I started to prep the ingredients. Behind me, Alpha Damien stood scrutinizing my every move.If it wasn’t for this guy, I would be eating pork feet with a glass of soju rolling around in front of the television, enjoying my lavish single life. Instead, I was struggling with this darn beef bourguignon, or blue marble, or whatever it’s called. I couldn’t believe I had to try to concoct a French dish I’d never even laid eyes on before. Not only that, but I had to complete the feat in front of those hawk like eyes that followed even the slightest movement of my fingertips.Are you really going to stay here for the whole two months? I asked cautiously, pretending as if there was no deeper meaning behind it.Alpha Damien articulated his answer in a firm tone of voice. For two whole months. 24 hours a day. I will be living here with you.What? All 24 hours? This was news to me.Just think of these 2 months as a beta test
However obnoxious he is, let’s be patient, I told myself. However angry he makes me, I must keep my cool. Don’t talk back, don’t talk back....But isn’t calling you young master better than calling you, you there, dude, jerk face...something to that extent? I asked.Not necessarily. Alpha Damien replied as if both options were extremely unappealing.Then should I call you by your name? Damien–Wow, no way, he interrupted. That’s the worst.Alpha Damien shuddered in disgust.Wow, me calling you by your name is that spine chilling? If I say your name, does some bad omen spirit clamp itself onto you? Really.Well, how about instead of master, I call you mister.Mister, mister, freakin mister.I cursed him inside my head as I sliced the beef with the knife I was holding. The knife blade must have been a good one because it cut the thick meat smoothly in one stroke. Alpha Damien stood next to me, watching and evaluating my knife skills.You probably imagined yourself a wealthy housewife li
I almost had a heart attack when I checked the price tags on the tableware in the store. Who in their right mind would pay this much for a plate? Even as I was wondering that, I realized that person was me. I sighed unintentionally.Upon remembering the existence of Alpha Damien next to me, I was forced to quickly change my expression and pretend to be okay with all of this.It’s okay, it’s okay. You needed to prepare a dowry anyways, right?Trying to control my emotions, I glanced up at Alpha Damien. He was watching me with his arms crossed and an expression that clearly said Let’s see how well you can choose.I had to choose well, but How was I supposed to know which one was good or not?I lowered my gaze toward the displays and cradled a bowl carefully in my hands. No matter how much I looked, the only thought in my head was that this was too expensive. I had no idea how to decipher which of these expensive pieces were the best.I slowly put down the bowl and decided to ask a sale
Alpha Damien had made such a fuss and nit-picked at everything when I was doing the choosing, but he just picked everything. He chose every single one of the store’s display of tableware sets.I mean, if that was all he was going to do, why did he make such a big deal about it in the first place? The design has to be like this, the use has to be like that. He was going to end up buying everything without any differentiation anyways!He even bought the Vera Wang special edition! After scolding me when I chose it!Because of my credit limit, I split the purchase between three different credit cards and shed a tear looking at the receipt. My precious money, gone. Even if I somehow got a million dollars, I would never be able to spend like this.I mean, why do we need to buy 20 sets! I exploded, but remembered Alpha Damien was there and quietly changed my tone. There must be a reason you bought it. You wouldn’t just buy all this without reason. Isn’t that right?I tried with all my might
With rickety steps, I walked out of the mall parking lot.Are you okay? Are you sure you don’t have to go to the hospital? Lucy followed me with worry in her voice. It was really loud when you fell...Are you sure you’re okay?I stopped walking and with my teeth clenched replied to her, Are you a goldfish? Do you forget after 3 seconds? I already told you I was okay? Three times.It’s just that I’m so worried...What if you are not okay but are just saying you are ok...If I’m not okay, then there must be a reason I’m saying I am okay!What, why? Are you embarrassed? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s alright. You’re only human, you can fall. Don’t worry about it. I understand, she said.You think I care if you understand or not? No, do you think this is something you should even try to understand in the first place? This is something you should be apologizing for!Me? Why?Because it’s all your fault! I blurted out angrily, and stomped toward the car.That’s right. The reason I
That’s how I wrapped up my story. None of it was a lie, I retold it exactly the way it had happened. Except for the fact that I excluded some parts. But the words I said were all the truth. Alpha Damien must have been mulling over my words, because he continued to look down in silence. Then he opened his mouth.Well, if that’s the case then I understand. But you put your hands on me, and violently no less, I cannot forgive. I will definitely tell my brother about this.After the warning, he turned and left for his room. After overcoming that hurdle, I sighed in relief and sprawled on the ground. What did Henry Johnson want to talk to me about?I was anxious and couldn’t get rid of the irksome feeling. I started to chew my fingernails again.At that moment, I heard Alpha Damien talking to his brother, tattling about me and what had happened today. Well, now Noah will know I met Henry Johnson.As of now, let’s wait for Noah’s phone call. Until then there’s no point in fretting over it.
Only after we grabbed a taxi did I breathe a sigh of relief. My whole body was drenched in sweat, so I fanned my face with the wedding invitations.Are you insane? Why the hell are you acting like this? Alpha Damien frowned at me.I don’t know, I, uh....I can’t really think of what to say right now. I admitted.Don’t tell me what you think, tell me the truth, Alpha Damien blurted out in anger.Ah...what do I do...Put in a difficult situation, I squeezed my eyes closed and increased the speed of my fanning.How can I explain this? What excuse should I give?After a lot of thought, I placed the wedding invitation on my lap and took a deep breath. Let’s just tell him what type of person Henry Johnson is. I’ll let him know how horrible a person he is and tell him I don’t want to invite him to the wedding.Looking down at the invitation, I strengthened my resolve and nodded my head. Suddenly, I got an inkling that something was off. Why...am I only holding two invitations? I’m sure I had
I handed out my wedding invitations to the three friends sitting opposite me. Nervous, I kept stealing glances at Alpha Damien who sat next to me. As always, Alpha Damien sat with his mouth tightly closed and watched us. He was civil, even at my introduction of him as my future brother-in-law, so I assumed he would just sit there and watch us quietly for the rest of the night.If that’s the case, I would be so grateful. I stole glances at Alpha Damien from time to time.Lucy, your fiance is the guy that came to the theater a long time ago, right? Jean opened up the dialogue from across the table and Darcy joined in.That’s right! He was friends with Henry and was glad to see you when he visited. Didn’t you say it had been a long time since your reunion?So you started dating at that time? my other friend piped up.Because the 3 girls sitting opposite me took turns shooting questions, I started to feel frazzled.“Not, not since then. Well...we were just continuing to keep in touch... I
People used to say that there is no one that is unable to survive one year of a marriage test. It means that however difficult it may be, as long as the time is short, it is possible to push through it. I’d like to meet the person who uttered those words. I cursed the person who spoke so easily of it. I had only endured a month of it and I’ve already become ragged. I told this to Noah over the phone.Even though this one month is killing me, how do you expect me to do this for a year? I’ll never last a whole year. It’s just a relief that it’s only for two months.I was alone, other than the taxi driver. It had been the first time in a long time that I was able to speak my mind truthfully to Noah. A conversation that I could never utter in front of Alpha Damien.I feel like a prisoner with a month left of sentence before freedom. I put x’s on the calendar counting down the days until you return.[Why did you choose to accept this useless challenge. You didn’t have to.]Who would have
Sautée the prepped beef, stir in the tomatoes and vegetables, then put them in the sauce. Then, put in the wine and cook it long and slow on low heat. Add salt and pepper to taste....I now only have to put in the mushrooms and bring it to a boil. At the moment I was about to put in the mushrooms, I heard the door open from the bedroom. I put down the empty plate and hurriedly went to greet Alpha Damien.Did you sleep well? Good morning! As I gave my morning greeting with a huge smile, Alpha Damien frowned and opened his mouth.What is this gross smell? Did you let in a hobo?Smell? Ah, I made beef bourguignon. Does it smell okay? Is it weird?Alpha Damien went toward the pot, closed his eyes, and with a serious look smelled the dish. A few moments later, he opened his eyes and glared at me with discontent.You didn’t get rid of the meat smell.Meat smell?I put my head close to the pot and sniffed it.Isn’t this just the smell of meat when you boil it? It’s supposed to be like this w
I held tightly to my cell phone and ran out into the night. I caught a taxi, and hurriedly arrived at Noah’s house. I rushed into the living room and saw Alpha Damien on the sofa with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face as he glared at me.What were you doing at this hour that you come now?Oh, I, I was at home. My home. I was going to sleep there, and come back in the morning.I had come so quickly at his beckoning that I had forgotten about my embarrassing situation. Alpha Damien answered back in a tone that clearly indicated his disapproval of me.Two months, every day. 24 hours a day. I told you that I am going to live here with you for that time frame. I mentioned this a couple hours ago, didn’t I?.Oh...yes, you did.You wanted to annoy me so you went home on purpose, didn’t you?What?My brother told you to use this house, but like last time you’re going to pretend like I kicked you out. Isn’t that why you went back to your house?&quoOh, no it’s not! I shook my two ha
Oh, all right. As the doctor went to go get the scissors, Alpha Damien paced beside me not knowing what to do with himself.As the doctor took the scissors to my shoes, Alpha Damien squeezed my shoulder. Then he spoke to me face to face.Just hold on a little. Taking it off like this won’t hurt as much.The doctor took the scissors and snip snip, started to cut open the shoes. The sound made it feel like my skin was being sliced up and it sent chills down my spine. At the same time, I was stuck imagining another gruesome scene which made me lose my mind a little. I grabbed Alpha Damien by the collar and shook him.You think that just because you take it off without hurting me, this is okay? It’s the next part that’s the problem! The next part! Shit, what are you going to do about my leg, my leg!The doctor had carefully slipped off the shoes, and even cut off the sock. As the air touched my bare feet, I covered my face to shield myself from the horrific sight.Ah, I can’t look....Alp
With rickety steps, I walked out of the mall parking lot.Are you okay? Are you sure you don’t have to go to the hospital? Lucy followed me with worry in her voice. It was really loud when you fell...Are you sure you’re okay?I stopped walking and with my teeth clenched replied to her, Are you a goldfish? Do you forget after 3 seconds? I already told you I was okay? Three times.It’s just that I’m so worried...What if you are not okay but are just saying you are ok...If I’m not okay, then there must be a reason I’m saying I am okay!What, why? Are you embarrassed? It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s alright. You’re only human, you can fall. Don’t worry about it. I understand, she said.You think I care if you understand or not? No, do you think this is something you should even try to understand in the first place? This is something you should be apologizing for!Me? Why?Because it’s all your fault! I blurted out angrily, and stomped toward the car.That’s right. The reason I
Alpha Damien had made such a fuss and nit-picked at everything when I was doing the choosing, but he just picked everything. He chose every single one of the store’s display of tableware sets.I mean, if that was all he was going to do, why did he make such a big deal about it in the first place? The design has to be like this, the use has to be like that. He was going to end up buying everything without any differentiation anyways!He even bought the Vera Wang special edition! After scolding me when I chose it!Because of my credit limit, I split the purchase between three different credit cards and shed a tear looking at the receipt. My precious money, gone. Even if I somehow got a million dollars, I would never be able to spend like this.I mean, why do we need to buy 20 sets! I exploded, but remembered Alpha Damien was there and quietly changed my tone. There must be a reason you bought it. You wouldn’t just buy all this without reason. Isn’t that right?I tried with all my might